Identifying purchase patterns and marketing based on user mood

ABSTRACT

A system and method for facilitating electronic commerce over a network, according to one or more embodiments, includes communicating with a user via a user device and a business entity via a business entity device over the network, monitoring user navigation events over the network, determining a mood of the user based on user navigation behavior, marketing to the user based on the mood of the user, and storing user information related to the user navigation events and the mood of the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/972,311, filed on Dec. 17, 2010, entitled “IDENTIFYING PURCHASEPATTERNS AND MARKETING BASED ON USER MOOD, the full disclosure of whichis incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to facilitating electroniccommerce over a network and, more particularly, to identifying currentpurchase patterns indicating mood over a network.

Related Art

In online financial transactions, users typically search for andpurchase products and services through electronic communications withonline merchants over electronic networks, such as the Internet. Whenshopping, users navigate through various merchant webpages to locate andselect desirable items. However, searching for and locating desirableitems can be cumbersome because merchants may have hundreds of items tonavigate through. As a result, some merchants may offer a means tonarrow search terms, but this can be time consuming and inconvenientbecause the user may understand the procedure.

As such, there exists a need to improve user experience for onlinesearching and locating desirable items for purchase.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods forfacilitating electronic commerce including identifying purchase patternsover a network. The systems and methods include communicating with auser via a user device and a business entity via a business entitydevice over the network, monitoring user navigation events over thenetwork, determining a mood of the user based on current user navigationbehavior, marketing to the user based on the current mood of the user,and storing user information related to the user navigation events andthe mood of the user.

In one implementation, the systems and methods may include prompting theuser to login over the network after communicating with the user via theuser device over the network, obtaining user information including useridentity information from the user via the user device over the network,determining identity of the user based on the user information, andaccessing a user account related to the user based on the identity ofthe user.

In another implementation, the systems and methods may include trackinguser navigation events over the network, monitoring user selectionevents over the network, tracking user selection events over thenetwork. The mood of the user may be based on user navigation behaviorand user selection events.

In another implementation, the systems and methods may includemonitoring user purchase events over the network and tracking userpurchase events over the network. The mood of the user may be based onuser navigation behavior and user purchase events.

In various implementations, the mood of the user may include apsychological state, emotional state, and a physical state of the user.Marketing to the user may include sending marketing messages (audioand/or video messages, advertisements, coupons, commercials, emails,voice mails, text messages, etc.) to the user via the user device overthe network based on the mood of the user. The business entity mayinclude a merchant entity, a social network entity, and/or aninformation resource entity, and the business entity may maintain andoperate a network based website on the network including a merchantsite, a social network site, and/or an information resource site.

Systems and methods, in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure, are adapted to identify purchase patterns of a user over anetwork including identifying user selection patterns and usernavigation patterns. In one aspect, identified navigation, selection,and/or purchase patterns may be utilized to identify the mood and/orpersona identity of a user. For example, if a user's mood isphilanthropic, the user may be in a mood to donate, and the user may notbe in the mood to gamble. Therefore, marketing messages may be generatedand/or adjusted to meet and/or anticipate the user's mood at aparticular time during network navigation including online shopping. Inanother aspect, navigation models, marketing messages, identity systems,etc. related to the user may be enhanced to match the mood of the userin real time. As such, navigational behavior and purchase history of theuser may be utilized to model the mood and personality traits of theuser to provide a seamless experience during online navigation.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be more readilyapparent from the detailed description of the embodiments set forthbelow taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system adapted to facilitateelectronic commerce over a network, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a method adapted to facilitateelectronic commerce over a network, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a computer system suitable forimplementing one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the invention and their advantages are best understood byreferring to the detailed description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods forfacilitating electronic commerce over a network including identifyinguser navigation patterns including user purchase patterns. For instance,service providers may have users purchasing different items, products,and services from different network based websites. Merchants,developers, and social networking entities may be classified intodifferent categories. User purchase patterns that are known by theservice providers may be utilized to identify a current mood of users,because user purchasing may depend on the mood of the user at specifictimes. Navigation models, marketing messages, identity systems, etc. maybe adapted to match the current mood of the user in real time. Purchasehistory and navigational behavior may be utilized to model mood andidentity of users for seamless experiences during online navigation.Thus, based on current mood of a user, specific offers or informationmay be provided to the user to enable a richer user experience and/orstimulate spending. These and other aspects of the present disclosureare described in greater detail herein.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a system 100 adapted for facilitatingelectronic commerce over a network 160, such as the Internet and/or amobile communication network. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100includes a user device 120 (e.g., a client, customer, or consumerdevice) adapted to interface with one or more merchant devices 140(e.g., one or more business entities proffering items, products, and/orservices for purchase), and a service provider 160 (e.g., a networkbased transaction service provider, such as a payment processing and/orsettlement transaction provider) over the network 160. In variousaspects, the merchant devices 140 may comprise information resourcedevices, social networking devices, etc., without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

The network 160, in one embodiment, may be implemented as a singlenetwork or a combination of multiple networks. For example, the network160 may include a wireless telecommunications network (e.g., cellulartelephone network) adapted for communication with one or more othercommunication networks, such as the Internet. In other examples, thenetwork 160 may include the Internet, one or more intranets, landlinenetworks, wireless networks, and/or one or more other appropriate typesof communication networks. As such, in various implementations, the userdevice 120, the one or more merchant devices 140, and the serviceprovider 180 may be associated with a particular link (e.g., a link,such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to an IP (Internet Protocol)address).

The user device 120, in various embodiments, may be implemented usingany appropriate combination of hardware and/or software configured forwired and/or wireless communication over the network 160. In oneembodiment, the user device 120 may be implemented as a mobilecommunication device (e.g., wireless cellular phone) adapted forcommunication with the network 160. In other embodiments, the userdevice 120 may be implemented as a personal computer (PC), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, and/or various othergenerally known types of wired and/or wireless computing devices forcommunication with the network 160. It should be appreciated that theuser device 120 may be referred to as a client device or a customerdevice without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The user device 120, in one embodiment, includes a user interfaceapplication 122, which may be utilized by a user to conduct networkbased financial transactions (e.g., remote network based electroniccommerce) with the one or more merchant devices 140 and/or the serviceprovider 180 over the network 160. In various implementations, the userinterface application 122 may be implemented as a network commerceapplication and/or a mobile commerce application to initiate, track,manage, and store data and information (e.g., user identity data andinformation) related to network based electronic commerce for viewing,searching, and/or purchasing items, products, and/or services over thenetwork 160. In one aspect, the user device 120 may be linked to anaccount with the service provider 160 for direct and/or automaticsettlement of purchase requests between a user and the one or moremerchant devices 140 via the user interface application 122.

In one embodiment, the user interface application 122 comprises asoftware program, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), executableby a processor that is configured to interface and communicate with theone or more merchant devices 140 and/or the service provider 180 via thenetwork 160. In one implementation, the user interface application 122comprises a browser module adapted to provide a network interface tobrowse information (e.g., user identity information) available over thenetwork 160. For example, the user interface application 122 may beimplemented, in part, as a web browser to view and search various typesof information available over the network 160. In another example, theuser is able to access merchant websites of the one or more merchantdevices 140 over the network 160 to view, search, and select items,products, and/or services for purchase, and the user is able to purchaseselected items, products, and/or services from the one or more merchantdevices 140 via the service provider 180. The user may conduct networkbased financial transactions with one or more merchant devices 140 viathe service provider 180.

In one embodiment, upon user instruction, the user interface application122 may be installed and/or run on the user device 120. The user may runthe user interface application 122 on the user device 120 to access theservice provider 180 via the network 160. In one aspect, uponinstallation and/or execution of the user interface application 122, theuser may be prompted to establish a user account for login with theservice provider 180, wherein the user may use the user interfaceapplication 122 and the user device 120 to access the service provider180 via the network 160. When establishing a user account, the user maybe asked to provide personal information, such as name, locationinformation (e.g., address), phone number, etc., and financialinformation, such as banking information, credit card information, etc.In another aspect, referring to FIG. 1, information related to the usermay be packaged as a user identifier 126, which is described in greaterdetail herein.

The user device 120, in various embodiments, may include otherapplications 124 as may be desired in one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure to provide additional features available to the user.In various examples, such other applications 124 may include securityapplications for implementing user-side security features, programmaticclient applications for interfacing with appropriate applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) over the network 160, and/or various othertypes of generally known programs and/or software applications. Invarious other examples, other applications 124 may interface with theuser interface application 122 for improved efficiency and convenience.In one example, files, data, and/or information may be imported fromvarious types of accounting software (e.g., a spreadsheet application)directly into the user interface application 122 for improved trackingof payments and settlements related to purchases via the network 160.Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the user interfaceapplication 122 and each of the other applications 124 are adapted tomake API calls over the network 160.

The user device 120, in various embodiments, may include the useridentifier 126, which may be implemented as operating system registryentries, cookies associated with the user interface application 122,identifiers associated with hardware of the user device 120, and/orvarious other appropriate identifiers. The user identifier 126 mayinclude one or more attributes related to the user, such as personalinformation related to the user (e.g., one or more user names,passwords, photograph images, biometric ids, addresses, phone numbers,etc.) and banking information (e.g., one or more banking institutions,credit card issuers, user account numbers, security data andinformation, etc.). In various aspects, the user identifier 126 may bepassed with user transaction requests to the service provider 180 viathe network 160, and the user identifier 126 may be utilized by theservice provider 180 to associate the user with a particular useraccount maintained by the service provider 180.

The user device 120, in one embodiment, may include a network interfacecomponent (NIC) 128 adapted for communication with the network 160. Invarious implementations, the network interface component 128 maycomprise a wireless communication component, such as a mobile cellularcomponent, a wireless broadband component, a wireless satellitecomponent, or various other types of wireless communication componentsincluding radio frequency (RF), microwave frequency (MWF), and/orinfrared frequency (IRF) components adapted for communication with thenetwork 160. In various other implementations, the network interfacecomponent 128 may be adapted to interface with a DSL (e.g., DigitalSubscriber Line) modem, a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)modem, an Ethernet device, and/or various other types of wired and/orwireless network communication devices adapted for communication withthe network 160.

The one or more merchant devices 140, in one embodiment, may beimplemented using any appropriate combination of hardware and/orsoftware configured for wired and/or wireless communication over thenetwork 160. In various implementations, the merchant devices 140 may beimplemented as a network server, a personal computer (PC), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, and/or various othergenerally known types of wired and/or wireless computing devices forcommunication with the network 160. In another implementation, themerchant device 140 may be implemented as a mobile device (e.g., awireless cellular phone) adapted for communication with the network 160.

In another embodiment, the one or more merchant devices 140 may bemaintained as one or more network servers by one or more businessentities (e.g., merchant sites, resource information sites, utilitysites, real estate management sites, social networking sites, etc.)offering various items, products, and/or services for purchase andpayment, which may need registration of user identity information aspart of offering the items, products, and/or services to one or moreusers over the network 160. Accordingly, each of the one or moremerchant devices 140 may comprise at least one network based server incommunication with the network 160 having a merchant interfaceapplication 142 and a products/services database 144 for presenting andidentifying one or more available items, products, and/or services forpurchase via the network 160, which may be made available to the userdevice 120 for viewing and purchase by the user. In one aspect, each ofthe network based merchant servers may be accessible via a mobilecommunication device (e.g., wireless cellular phone) for managementpurposes. For example, each merchant entity may remotely access andinteract with their own network based merchant server via a mobilecommunication device for management purposes.

In one embodiment, each of the merchant devices 140 includes themerchant interface application 142, which may be utilized by the one ormore merchant devices 140 to conduct network based financialtransactions (e.g., remote network commerce, such as shopping,purchasing, bidding, etc.) with one or more users via one or more userdevices 120 and/or the service provider 180 over the network 160. Forexample, the merchant interface application 142 may be implemented as anelectronic commerce application to initiate, track, manage, and storedata and information (e.g., user identity data and information) relatedto remote network based commerce for the viewing, searching, andpurchasing of items, products, and/or services over the network 160. Inone aspect, each merchant device 140 may be linked to an account withthe service provider 160 for direct and/or automatic settlement ofpurchase requests between each merchant 140 and one or more users viathe merchant interface application 142.

In one implementation, the merchant interface application 142 comprisesa software program, such as a GUI, executable by a processor configuredto interface and communicate with one or more users via one or more userdevices 120 and/or the service provider 180 via the network 160. Inanother implementation, merchant interface application 142 comprises anetwork interface module that makes information available to the userdevice 120 over the network 160. For example, the merchant interfaceapplication 142 may be implemented, in part, as a website manager toprovide, list, and present information to the user device 120 via thenetwork 160. In another example, each merchant 140 is capable ofproviding one or more network based merchant websites to allow viewing,searching, and selecting of items, products, and/or services forpurchase by the user via the user device 120, and the user is able topurchase items, products, and/or services from the one or more merchantdevices 140 via the merchant websites and the service provider 180. Assuch, each of the merchant devices 140 may conduct financialtransactions with the user via the merchant interface application 142and the service provider 180.

In various implementations, the merchant interface application 142 mayinclude a marketplace application, which may be configured to providetransaction information related to the products and/or services database144 to the user interface application 122 of the user device 120 via thenetwork 160. In one aspect, the transaction information may include useridentity information. For example, the user may interact with themerchant 140 via the marketplace application through the user interfaceapplication 122 over the network 160 to search and view various items,products, and/or services available for purchase from theproducts/services database 144. In one implementation, the marketplaceapplication may include a checkout module adapted to facilitate onlinefinancial transactions with the user 120, and the checkout module may beadapted to accept payment from the user 120 and process the payment viainteraction with the service provider 180.

In one implementation, upon merchant instruction, the merchant interfaceapplication 142 may be installed and/or run on each merchant device 140.Each merchant may run the merchant interface application 142 on theirmerchant device 140 to access service provider 180 via the network 160.In one aspect, upon installation and/or execution of the merchantinterface application 142, each merchant may be prompted to establish amerchant account for login with the service provider 180, wherein eachmerchant may use merchant interface application 142 and merchant device140 to access the service provider 180 via the network 160. In oneaspect, when establishing a merchant account, each merchant may be askedto provide business information, such as business name, locationinformation (e.g., address), phone number, etc., and financialinformation, such as banking information, credit card information,taxing entity, etc. In another aspect, information related to themerchant may be packaged as a merchant identifier 146, which isdescribed in greater detail herein.

In various implementations, the merchant interface application 142 mayinclude one or more other applications as may be desired to provideadditional features available to the merchant. In various examples, suchother applications may include security applications for implementinguser-side security features, programmatic applications for interfacingwith appropriate application programming interfaces (APIs) over thenetwork 160, and/or various other types of generally known programsand/or software applications. In various other examples, files, data,and/or information may be imported from various types of accountingsoftware (e.g., a spreadsheet application) directly into the merchantinterface application 142 for improved tracking of payments andsettlements related to electronic commerce via the network 160. As such,it should be appreciated that merchant interface application 142 and anyother application may be adapted to make API calls over the network 160.

Each of the merchant devices 140, in various embodiments, may include atleast one merchant identifier 146, which may be included as part of theone or more items, products, and/or services made available for purchaseso that, e.g., particular items, products, and/or services areassociated with particular merchant devices 140. In one implementation,the merchant identifier 146 may include one or more attributes and/orparameters related to the merchant, such as business and/or bankinginformation. For example, the merchant identifier 146 may be passed fromeach particular merchant 140 to the service provider 180 when the userselects an item, product, and/or service for holding, monitoring, and/orpurchasing from each particular merchant 140. In one aspect, themerchant identifier 146 may be used by the service provider 180 toassociate particular items, products, and/or services selected forpurchase with a particular merchant account maintained by the serviceprovider 180. In another aspect, the user may conduct financialtransactions (e.g., selection, monitoring, purchasing, and/or providingpayment for items, products, and/or services) with each merchant server140 via the service provider 180 over the network 160.

In various embodiments, each of the one or more business entities havinga related merchant server 140 may need to establish at least onemerchant account with the service provider 180. When establishing amerchant account, each of the one or more business entities may need toprovide business information, such as owner name, owner address, socialsecurity number, date of birth, phone number, email address, etc., andfinancial information, such as banking information, merchant accountinformation, credit card information, payment processing information,etc.

In one embodiment, each merchant device 140 includes at least onenetwork interface component (NIC) 148 adapted for communication with thenetwork 160. For example, in various implementations, the networkinterface component 148 may comprise a wireless communication component,such as a mobile cellular component, a wireless broadband component, awireless satellite component, or various other types of wirelesscommunication components including radio frequency (RF), microwavefrequency (MWF), and/or infrared frequency (IRF) components adapted forcommunication with the network 160. In various other implementations,the network interface component 148 may be adapted to interface with aDSL (e.g., Digital Subscriber Line) modem, a PSTN (Public SwitchedTelephone Network) modem, an Ethernet device, and/or various other typesof wired and/or wireless network communication devices adapted forcommunication with the network 160.

The service provider 180, in one embodiment, may be maintained andoperated by a network based transaction processing entity, which mayprovide processing for network based transactions including onlineinformation and/or financial transactions on behalf of the user via theuser device 120 and/or each merchant device 140. As shown in FIG. 1, theservice provider 180 includes a service interface application 182, whichmay be adapted to interact with the user device 120 and/or each merchant140 over the network 160 to facilitate electronic commerce includingprocessing user identity data and information. In various examples,financial transactions may include the selection, purchase, and/orpayment of items, products, and/or services by a user via the userdevice 120 from one or more merchant devices 140. In some examples,purchase and payment for selected items, products, and/or services mayinclude one or more tax assessments. In one embodiment, the serviceprovider 180 may be provided by a network based transaction processingentity, such as PayPal, Inc. and/or eBay of San Jose, Calif., USA.

The service interface application 182, in one embodiment, is adapted toutilize a processing module 184 to interact with the user via the userinterface application 122 over the network 160 and process informationtransactions including purchases and/or payments for financialtransactions between the user device 120 and each of the merchantdevices 140. In one implementation, the processing module 184 is adaptedto resolve financial transactions through validation, delivery, andsettlement. For example, the processing module 184 may be adapted tocommunicate with a clearing house, such as automated clearing house(ACH), to debit a user account related to the user according to anamount specific in a payment and credit therewith a merchant accountrelated to a merchant. In another implementation, the processing module184 is adapted to assess and disperse taxes for financial transactionsthrough validation, delivery, and settlement. For example, taxassessment may include automatically calculating tax on Internetpurchases based on buyer location, seller location, and/or type ofitems, products, and/or services purchased. Accordingly, the serviceinterface application 182 in conjunction with the processing module 184is adapted to settle indebtedness on behalf of a user between the userdevice 120 and each of the merchant devices 140, wherein accounts may bedirectly and/or automatically debited and/or credited, respectively, ofmonetary funds in a manner as accepted by the banking industry.

The service interface application 182, in one embodiment, is adapted toutilize a pattern identifying module 186 to interact with the user viathe user interface application 122 over the network 160 and identifyselection, navigation, and/or purchase patterns of the user for networkbased transactions. In one implementation, the pattern identifyingmodule 186 is adapted to utilize user selection, navigation, and/orpurchase patterns to identify the mood and identity of the user duringinformation transactions over the network 160, such as when navigatingand/or purchasing items (i.e., goods, products, and/or services) overthe network 160, such as the Internet. In one aspect, the patternidentifying module 186 is adapted to identify a user's mood and/oridentity via the user device 120 over the network 160.\

In one implementation, the pattern identifying module 186 is adapted tomonitor, track, log, and store data and information related to userselection, navigation, and/or purchasing events during online navigationby the user via the user device 120. In one aspect, the patternidentifying module 186 allows the service provider 180 to monitor,track, log, and store user selection events during online navigationover the network 160. For example, the service provider 180 interfaceswith the user device 120 via, e.g., a browser window to monitor, track,log, and store navigation events related to the user and the user device120 during online navigation on various merchant sites, social networksites, information resource sites, etc. The pattern identifying module186 may be utilized by the service provider 180 to monitor, track, log,and store user selections of merchant information, social networkinformation, resource information, etc. In another example, the patternidentifying module 186 may be utilized by the service provider 180 toidentify user selection patterns for determining the mood of the userand/or verifying the identity of the user. In another example, theservice provider 180 may utilize the pattern identifying module 186 toreview user navigational history and user navigational behavior formodeling the mood of a user, including a psychological state, anemotional state and/or a physical state of the user.

In one implementation, the pattern identifying module 186 is adapted tonotify users of data and information (e.g., marketing messages) based onthe mood of the user. For example, the pattern identifying module 186 isadapted to notify or alert the user of merchant sites related to themood of the user with notifications or alerts (e.g., email message, textmessage, instant message, voice message, etc.) provided over the network160.

In one implementation, the pattern identifying module 186 is adapted toprocess user selection events during online shopping by the user via theuser device 120. In one aspect, the pattern identifying module 186allows the service provider 180 to process user selections during onlinenavigation and shopping events over the network 160. For example, theservice provider 180 interfaces with the user device 120 via, e.g., abrowser window to monitor the user and the user device 120 duringnavigation and shopping events on various merchant sites, social networksites, information resource sites, etc. The pattern identifying module186 may be utilized by the service provider 180 to monitor userselections of one or more items, products, and/or services. In anotherexample, the pattern identifying module 186 may be used by the serviceprovider 180 to provide the user with estimated tax amounts for items,products, and/or services held in an online shopping cart.

In one aspect, the service provider 180 is adapted to monitor, track,log, and store data and information related to user selection,navigation, and purchase events from multiple online sites over thenetwork 160. As such, user selection, navigation, and purchase patternsknown by the service provider 180 may be utilized to identify the moodof the user, including the mental and emotional state of the user, andorient marketing information to the mood of the user at a specific time.For example, if a user's mood is philanthropic, the user may be inclinedto donate, and at the same time, the user may not be inclined to gamble.Therefore, the service provider 180 is adapted to enhance usernavigation models, marketing messages, identity systems, etc. to matchthe mood of the user in real time. In one aspect, user behaviorincluding selection, navigation, and purchase history may be utilized bythe service provider 180 to model mood and/or the identity of a user.For example, if a user is prone to purchase electronic items, the useris provided with a seamless experience during online navigation.

The service provider 180, in one embodiment, may be configured tomaintain one or more user accounts and merchant accounts in an accountdatabase 190, each of which may include account information 192associated with one or more individual users and the one or moremerchant devices 140. In various examples, account information 192 mayinclude user identity data and information related to one or more usersand/or merchants. In various other examples, account information 192 mayinclude inventory information, such as types of items, products, and/orservices proffered for sale by the user and/or merchants. As such, itshould be appreciated that the user may be considered a buyer or sellerand proffer items, products, and/or services for sale over the network160, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Itshould also be appreciated that the merchant may be considered a buyeror seller and proffer items, products, and/or services for sale over thenetwork 160, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In another example, account information 192 may include privatefinancial data and information of the user and/or each merchant 140,such as one or more locations, addresses, account numbers, passwords,credit card information, banking information, or other types offinancial information, which may be used to facilitate online financialtransactions between the user and the one or more merchant devices 140.In various implementations, the methods and systems described herein maybe modified to accommodate additional users and/or additional merchantsthat may or may not be associated with at least one existing useraccount and/or merchant account, respectively.

In one implementation, the user and/or user device 120 may have identityattributes stored with the service provider 180 as the user identifier126, and the user and/or user device 120 may have credentials toauthenticate or verify identity with the service provider 180. In oneaspect, user attributes may include personal information and bankinginformation, as previously described, including location, tax rates,etc. In other aspects, the user attributes may be passed to the serviceprovider 180 as part of a login and/or transaction request, and the userattributes may be utilized by the service provider 180 to associate theuser and/or the user device 120 with one or more particular useraccounts in the account database 190 maintained by the service provider180.

In another implementation, each of the merchants and/or merchant devices140 may have identity attributes stored with the service provider 180 asmerchant identifiers 146, and each of the merchant devices 140 may havecredentials to authenticate or verify identity with the service provider180. In one aspect, merchant attributes may include personal, business,and banking information, as previously described, including location,tax rates, etc. In other aspects, the merchant attributes may be passedto the service provider 180 as part of a login and/or transactionrequest, and the merchant attributes may be utilized by the serviceprovider 180 to associate each of the merchant devices 140 with one ormore merchant accounts in the account database 190 maintained by theservice provider 180.

The service provider 180, in various embodiments, may include a networkinterface component (NIC) 194 adapted for communication with the network160 and any network based communication devices including the networkinterface component 128 of the user device 120 and the network interfacecomponent 148 of each merchant 140. In various implementations, thenetwork interface component 194 of the service provider 180 may includea wireless communication component, such as a wireless broadbandcomponent, a wireless satellite component, or various other types ofwireless communication components including radio frequency (RF),microwave frequency (MWF), and/or infrared frequency (IRF) componentsadapted for communication with the network 160. In other variousimplementations, the network interface component 148 may be adapted tointerface with a DSL (e.g., Digital Subscriber Line) modem, a PSTN(Public Switched Telephone Network) modem, an Ethernet device, and/orvarious other types of wired and/or wireless network communicationdevices adapted for communication with the network 160.

The service provider 180, in one embodiment, may include one or moredatabases 196 (e.g., internal and/or external databases) for storing andtracking information related to financial transactions, including useridentity data and information, between one or more users, merchantdevices 140, and service provider 180. In one implementation, thedatabases 196 may provide a historical survey of financial transactionsbetween the user device 120, the one or more merchant devices 140, andthe service provider 180. For example, the service interface application182 may be adapted to monitor, track, log, and store transactioninformation, including user identity data and information, related tonetwork based electronic commerce between the user device 120, eachmerchant 140, and/or the service provider 180, and the storedtransaction information is accessible from the databases 196 forassessment, analysis, maintenance, and settlement.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of a method 200 for facilitating electroniccommerce including identifying purchase patterns over a network 160. Itshould be appreciated that, for purposes of explanation, the method 200of FIG. 2 is described in reference to the system 100 of FIG. 1, butshould not be limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 2, the service provider 180 is adapted to communicatewith a user via the user device 120 over the network 160 (block 210). Inone implementation, the service provider 180 utilizes the serviceinterface application 182 to communicate with the user over the network160 via the user interface application 122 of the user device 120. Theprocessing module 184 may be utilized by the service interfaceapplication 182 to process transactions (e.g., information and financialtransactions) over the network 160. The pattern indentifying module 186may be utilized by the service interface application 182 to monitor,track, log, and store data and information related to user selection,navigation, and purchase events over the network 160.

The service provider 180 is adapted to obtain user information, such asidentity data and information, from communication with the user via theuser device 120 over the network 160 (block 214). In one implementation,the service provider 180 may prompt the user to login from the userdevice 120 over the network 160. As such, the user may login to a serverof the service provider 180 to provide user related information.

The service provider 180 is adapted to determine user identity based oninformation obtained from communication with the user via the userdevice 120 over the network 160 (block 218). In one aspect, useridentity information may include attributes related to the user, such aspersonal information related to the user (e.g., usernames, passwords,account numbers, payment media information, photograph images, biometricids, addresses including location information, phone numbers, etc.) andbanking information (e.g., banking institutions, debit card issuers,credit card issuers, user account numbers, payment media information,security information, etc.). In one aspect, the user identityinformation may be utilized by the service provider 180 to verify theidentity of the user along with verifying payment media, such as debitcards and/or credit cards.

The service provider 180 is adapted to access a user account related tothe user in the account database 190 based on user information passedfrom the user device 120 over the network 160 (block 222). In oneimplementation, the service provider device 180 is adapted to locate andaccess an account related to the user in the account database 190. Ifthe user is determined to be an existing user by the service provider180, then the service provider 180 is adapted to verify the user accountand user identity information obtained from the user 102 by comparingthe obtained user information with account information 192 stored aspart of the user account in the account database 190. The serviceprovider 180 may determine if the user account is current and active. Insome instances, user account information may need to be updated, and assuch, the service provider device 180 may prompt the user 102 to updateuser account information 188, including payment media information (e.g.,debit card and/or credit card numbers, expiration dates, etc.), in theuser account. The updated information may include other payment mediainformation, including a change of address.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the serviceprovider 180 may cancel any user request at any time during the processof method 200 if, for example, it is determined by the service provider180 that the user enters wrong information or the user is trying toaccess an account with criminal intent.

In one implementation, referring to FIG. 2, the service provider 180 isadapted to monitor user selection events over the network 160 (block226). As described herein, the service application 182 is adapted toutilize the pattern identifying module 186 to monitor, track, log, andstore data and information related to user selection events duringonline navigation by the user via the user device 120 over the network160. In one aspect, the service provider 180 interfaces with the userdevice 120 via the user interface application 122 (e.g., a browserapplication) to monitor, track, log, and store user selection eventsduring online navigation over the network 160. For example, a user mayvisit an online resource, social, and/or merchant website and selectpages to view data and information related to the particular site. Inanother aspect, the pattern identifying module 186 may be utilized bythe service provider 180 to identify a mood of the user based on userselections events. For example, the user may visit a social networkingwebsite to search for a companion. Around the same time, the user mayaccess a healthy living website. Therefore, an assumption about the usermay be made that the user is in a self-improving mood. In one aspect,mood of the user refers to a psychological state, emotional state,and/or physical state of the user.

In one implementation, referring to FIG. 2, the service provider 180 isadapted to monitor user navigation events over the network 160 (block230). As described herein, the service application 182 is adapted toutilize the pattern identifying module 186 to monitor, track, log, andstore data and information related to user navigation events duringonline navigation by the user via the user device 120 over the network160. In one aspect, the service provider 180 interfaces with the userdevice 120 via the user interface application 122 (e.g., a browserapplication) to monitor, track, log, and store user navigation eventsduring online navigation over the network 160. For example, a user mayvisit an online resource, social, and/or merchant website and navigatethrough pages to view data and information related to the particularsite. In another aspect, the pattern identifying module 186 may beutilized by the service provider 180 to identify a mood of the userbased on user navigation events. For example, the user may visit aphilanthropic website to make donations to a charity. Around the sametime, the user may not access a gambling website. Therefore, anassumption about the user may be made that the user is in aphilanthropic mood.

In one implementation, referring to FIG. 2, the service provider 180 isadapted to monitor user purchase events over the network 160 (block234). As described herein, the service application 182 is adapted toutilize the pattern identifying module 186 to monitor, track, log, andstore data and information related to user purchase events during onlinenavigation by the user via the user device 120 over the network 160. Inone aspect, the service provider 180 interfaces with the user device 120via the user interface application 122 (e.g., a browser application) tomonitor, track, log, and store user purchase events during onlinenavigation over the network 160. For example, a user may visit an onlineresource, social, and/or merchant website and navigate through pages toview data and information related to purchasing websites. In anotheraspect, the pattern identifying module 186 may be utilized by theservice provider 180 to identify a purchasing mood of the user based onuser purchase events. For example, the user may visit personalelectronics website and purchase mobile communication device. Around thesame time, the user may access a video gaming website. Therefore, anassumption about the user may be made that the user is currently in amobile gaming mood.

In one aspect, a user may visit an online merchant website and navigatethrough the product pages to select one or more items for purchase. Theselected items are placed in a virtual shopping cart until checkout.When the user is done shopping, the user accesses a merchant webpage forviewing the selected items in the virtual shopping cart. At thismerchant page, the user may decide to checkout (i.e., purchase) andselect a link to the service provider 180 to request processing of thepurchase transaction. Upon user selection, the service provider 180receives a purchase request in reference to the shopping cart and theone or more items selected for purchase. In one implementation, the userpurchase request includes information related to the transactionincluding user information (e.g., user name, user account, userlocation, payment media information, etc.) and merchant information(e.g., merchant name, merchant account, merchant location, and one ormore items selected for purchase including item description, category,price, weight, size, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 2, in one implementation, the service provider 180 isadapted to determine user navigation behavior based on user selection,navigation, and/or purchasing events over the network 160 (block 238).In one aspect, the service provider 180 monitors the navigation behaviorof the user as the user visits, searches, and purchases different thingsfrom different websites over the network 160. Each of the merchants,developers, and/or service entities may be arranged into differentcategories, wherein user selection, navigation, and/or purchase patternsknown to the service provider 180 may be utilized to determine theuser's navigation behavior at different periods of time.

Referring to FIG. 2, in one implementation, the service provider 180 isadapted to determine user mood based on user selection, navigation,and/or purchasing events over the network 160 (block 242). In oneaspect, the service provider 180 monitors the navigation behavior of theuser as the user visits, searches, and purchases different things fromdifferent websites over the network 160. Each of the merchants,developers, and/or service entities may be arranged into differentcategories, wherein user selection, navigation, and/or purchase patternsknown to the service provider 180 may be utilized to determine theuser's mood at different periods of time.

In one aspect, the service provider 180 may monitor and track webpagesvisited, webpages viewed, content or webpages visited and/or viewed,content of searches conducted by the user, frequency of searches,movements, and/or behavior conducted by the user. In another aspect, themood of the user may be determined based on the identity persona of theuser and/or personality type of the user. In another aspect, the mood ofthe user in real time may be adjusted based on navigation behaviorduring a certain period of time to provide deviations and/or variationsin marketing to the user. In another aspect, mood may be determinedbased on the type of music the user is listening to and/or interestedwithin a particular interval of time. The mood of the user may bedetermined in any number of suitable ways, in any number of suitablealgorithms. For example, if a user has been reading about a disaster,such as an earthquake, hurricane, etc., the user may be in a mood forgiving or more prone to charity. If a user has just purchased one ormore high-priced items or made a purchase totaling a high dollar amount,the user may be in a mood to do more shopping. In another example, ifthe use is searching for and/or purchasing religious items, the user'smood may be more spiritual and more prone to purchasing spiritual itemsor donating to religious organizations. If a user is searching for dealsand/or using coupons, the user may be in the mood to find good deals andless apt to spend money on full price or costly items.

Referring to FIG. 2, the service provider 180 is adapted to market tothe user based, at least, on current user navigation behavior and/ormood of the user (block 246). In one aspect, navigation behavior models,marketing messages, identity systems, etc. may be oriented to match themood of the user in real time. In another aspect, selection history,navigation history, purchase history along with navigational behaviormay be utilized by the service provider 180 to model mood and/oridentity of the user to provide a seamless experience during onlinenavigation. In another aspect, the service provider 180 may suggestwebsites to the user to visit or make offers to the user depending onthe determined mood of the user. In another aspect, the service provider180 is adapted to utilize what is known about the user coupled withselection, navigation, and/or purchase events to determine or adjustmarketing messages provided to the user to promote and solicit to theuser. For example, if the user is in a charitable, giving, or generousmood, the user may be provided with offers to donate to variouscharities. If the user is in a high-dollar spending mood, the user maybe provided offers to purchase high-end items related to current or pastpurchases. If the user is in a sad mood, the user may be provided offersto make the user happy or smile, such as what the user has enjoyedpurchasing before, pictures, songs, etc.

In one implementation, marketing involves a process by which businessentities (e.g., merchants 140) utilize to generate interest inparticular items, products, goods and/or services offered by thebusiness entities. Marketing schemes may be developed to generate abusiness strategy that emphasizes market research, sales techniques,business communication, and/or business development. Marketing mayincorporate various integrated processes that assist business entitieswith building strong customer relationships. Marketing may involve anytype of business activity adapted to create, communicate, present,deliver, and exchange offerings that have a perceived value forcustomers. For example, offerings may include advertisements, coupons,commercials, etc. that relay marketing information to targeted customersto thereby entice the targeted customers to purchase particular items,products, goods and/or services from a particular business entity. Inelectronic commerce, offerings may include electronic advertisements,coupons, and commercials including audio and video (AV) offeringsdelivered over a network, such as the Internet.

In another implementation, marketing may be utilized to identifycustomers, satisfy customers, and retain customers. Marketing mayinvolve management of business activities to identity particularcustomers as a primary focus. Marketing may involve strategies thatassist business entities with shifting production focus to the mood ofcustomers as a means of staying profitable. Marketing techniques may beadapted to research and develop strategies to anticipate and meet thepsychological, emotional, and/or physical needs of customers.

In another implementation, marketing involves achieving businessdevelopment goals depending on knowing the needs and wants of targetcustomers and delivering satisfaction to the targeted customers.Marketing is adapted to anticipate the needs and wants of customers witha focused goal of satisfying these needs and wants more effectively thancompetitors.

The service provider 180 is adapted to store user information (block250). In one aspect, user information may include attributes related tothe user including user name, user account number, user location,payment media information, etc., which may be stored as part of the useraccount in the account database 190. In another aspect, user informationmay include data and information related to monitoring user selectionevents, monitoring user navigation events, and/or monitoring userpurchase events, which may be stored as part of the user account in theaccount database 190. In another aspect, user information may includedata and information related to user navigation behavior and/or mood ofthe user as determined by the service provider 180, which may be storedas part of the user account in the account database 190. In stillanother aspect, user information may include data and informationrelated to user marketing based on user navigation behavior and/or moodof the user, which may be stored as part of the user account in theaccount database 190.

In one implementation, the service provider 180 may utilize one or moreother databases (e.g., internal and/or external databases 196) forstoring data and information related to user information. Databasesutilized by the service provider 180 may provide a historical survey ofuser information and financial transactions between the user device 120,the one or more merchant devices 140, and the service provider 180. Theservice provider 180 may be adapted to monitor, track, log, and storeuser information related to network based information exchanges betweenthe user device 120, each merchant 140, and/or the service provider 180.The stored user information is accessible from the databases 196 forassessment, analysis, maintenance, and settlement.

In another implementation, any data and information related tomonitoring user selection events, monitoring user navigation events,monitoring user purchase events, user navigation behavior, mood of theuser, and/or user marketing may be displayed via a display device to auser of the user device 120 and/or an administrator of the serviceprovider 180 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer system 300 suitable forimplementing various embodiments of the present disclosure, includingthe user device 120, the merchant devices 140, and the service providerdevice 180. In various implementations, the user device 120 may comprisea network communication device (e.g., mobile cellular phone, laptop,personal computer, etc.) capable of communicating with the network 160,the merchant devices 140 may comprise a network computing device (e.g.,a network server), and the service provider device 180 may comprise anetwork computing device (e.g., a network server). In otherimplementations, it should be appreciated that the merchant devices 140and the service provider device 180 may comprise a network communicationdevice (e.g., mobile cellular phone, laptop, personal computer, etc.)capable of communicating with the network 160, without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure. Hence, it should be appreciatedthat each of the devices 120, 140, 180 may be implemented as thecomputer system 300 for communication with the network 160 in a manneras follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 300, such as a mobile communication device and/or anetwork server, includes a bus 302 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, which interconnects subsystems andcomponents, such as processing component 304 (e.g., processor,micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), system memorycomponent 306 (e.g., RAM), static storage component 308 (e.g., ROM),disk drive component 310 (e.g., magnetic or optical), network interfacecomponent 312 (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), display component 314(e.g., CRT or LCD), input component 316 (e.g., keyboard), cursor controlcomponent 318 (e.g., mouse or trackball), and image capture component320 (e.g., analog or digital camera). In one implementation, disk drivecomponent 310 may comprise a database having one or more disk drivecomponents.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, computersystem 300 performs specific operations by processor 304 executing oneor more sequences of one or more instructions contained in system memorycomponent 306. Such instructions may be read into system memorycomponent 306 from another computer readable medium, such as staticstorage component 308 or disk drive component 310. In other embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions to implement the present disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 304for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. In variousimplementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks,such as disk drive component 310, and volatile media includes dynamicmemory, such as system memory component 306. In one aspect, data andinformation related to execution instructions may be transmitted tocomputer system 300 via a transmission media, such as in the form ofacoustic or light waves, including those generated during radio wave andinfrared data communications. In various implementations, transmissionmedia may include coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics,including wires that comprise bus 302

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by computer system 300. In various other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a plurality of computer systems 300 coupled bycommunication link 330 (e.g., network 160 of FIG. 1, such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

Computer system 300 may transmit and receive messages, data, informationand instructions, including one or more programs (i.e., applicationcode) through communication link 330 and communication interface 312.Received program code may be executed by processor 304 as receivedand/or stored in disk drive component 310 or some other non-volatilestorage component for execution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used toidentify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures,wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments ofthe present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a serviceprovider server and over a network, information associated with browsingnavigation events and browsing selection events made by a user on a userdevice reported by a browsing module of a user interface application,the browsing navigation events and the browsing selection eventsincluding browsing navigation events and browsing selection eventsassociated with social network sites and merchant sites; receiving, bythe service provider server, information associated with purchase eventsmade by the user on the user device; determining, at the serviceprovider server and using a pattern identifying module, one or more userbrowser patterns based on the browsing navigation events and thebrowsing selection events; determining, by the pattern identifyingmodule, one or more purchase patterns based on the purchase events;determining, at the service provider server and using the patternidentifying module, one or more likelihoods of the user to be interestedin one or more categories of goods or services based on the determinedone or more user browser patterns and the determined one or morepurchase patterns; and providing, by the service provider server,content to the user on the user device based on the determined one ormore likelihoods.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the provided contentcomprises recommended goods or services from the one or more categories.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the provided content includes one ormore offers for goods or services from the one or more categories. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the provided content includes one or morerecommended websites.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving theinformation associated with the browsing navigation events and thebrowsing selection events comprises a server interface module on theservice provider server communicating with a user interface module onthe user device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one ormore likelihoods of the user to be interested in one or more categoriesof goods or services are selected from a group consisting of charitablegiving, self-improvement, mobile gaming, spiritual interest, highspending, and low spending.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thebrowsing navigation events and the browsing selection events furtherinclude browsing navigation and browsing selection events associatedwith information resource sites.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising determining, at the service provider server and using thepattern identifying module, an identity of the user based on the browserpatterns.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the browsing navigationevents and the browsing selection events are associated with bothmerchant and non-merchant websites.
 10. A system comprising: anon-transitory memory; and one or more hardware processors coupled tothe non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from thenon-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operationscomprising: receiving, via a service interface application of a serviceprovider server, information associated with browsing navigation eventsand browsing selection events made by a user on a user device reportedby a browsing module of a user interface application, the browsingnavigation events and the browsing selection events including browsingnavigation events and browsing selection events associated with socialnetwork sites and merchant sites; accessing information associated withpurchase events made by the user on the user device; determining, by apattern identifying module of the service interface application, one ormore user browser patterns based on the browsing navigation events andthe browsing selection events; determining, by the pattern identifyingmodule, one or more purchase patterns based on the purchase events;determining, by the pattern identifying module, one or more likelihoodsof the user to be interested in one or more categories of goods orservices based on the one or more user browser patterns and the one ormore purchase patterns; and providing, by the service interfaceapplication, content to the user on the user device based on thedetermined one or more likelihoods.
 11. The system of claim 10, whereinthe provided content includes one or more offers for goods or servicesfrom the one or more categories.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein theprovided content includes one or more recommended websites.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the browsing navigation events and thebrowsing selection events further include browsing navigation events andbrowsing selection events associated with information resource sites.14. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprisedetermining, by the pattern identifying module, an identity of the userbased on the one or more user browser patterns and the one or morepurchase patterns.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the operationsfurther comprise determining, using the pattern identifying module, anidentity of the user based on the browser patterns.
 16. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readableinstructions executable to cause a machine to perform operationscomprising: accessing information associated with browsing navigationevents and browsing selection events made by a user on a user devicereported by a browsing module of a user interface application, thebrowsing navigation events and the browsing selection events includingbrowsing navigation and browsing selection events associated with socialnetwork sites and merchant sites; accessing information associated withpurchase events made by the user on the user device; determining, by apattern identifying module, one or more user browser patterns based onthe browsing navigation events and the browsing selection events;determining, by the pattern identifying module, one or more purchasepatterns based on the purchase events; determining, by the patternidentifying module, one or more likelihoods of the user to be interestedin one or more categories of goods or services based on the one or moreuser browser patterns and the one or more purchase patterns; and providecontent to the user on the user device based on the determined one ormore likelihoods; wherein the machine is associated with a serviceprovider server.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim16, wherein the provided content includes one or more offers for goodsor services from the one or more categories.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the provided contentincludes one or more recommended websites.
 19. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the browsing navigationevents and the browsing selection events further include browsingnavigation events and browsing selection events associated withinformation resource sites.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise determining,by the pattern identifying module, an identity of the user based on theone or more user browser patterns and the one or more purchase patterns.